Signal device for automobiles.



G. BRAZEE.

SIGNAL DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. I9l7.

Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

SJ wow do; Qeazye Brazee SIGNAL DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Jan. 8, teas,

application filed March 3, 1917. a serial No. 152,416.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE Brazen, citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Signal Devices for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in signaling devices for automobiles, and the object of my invention is to provide a simple and etliciently operative signaling device which shall be adapted to be clamped to one of the vertical supports of the wind-shield of an automobile and which shall be further adapted to be actuated by the operator at required times to move it to a position that will indicate that the course of said automobile in its travel is about to be changed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a signaling device having" a hollow semaphorical arm of arrow-like form which shall be adapted to be moved from a vertical position to a horizontal position andwhich hollow arm shall embody a front side wall of red glass and a rear wall of glass of a different color, together with an incandescent electric lamp operatively disposedwithin it in such manner that the light of said lamp may illuminate bothof said glass walls only when said arm is in a horizontal position thus to display an arrow that may be seen from points in front of said arm and an arrow of a diiierent color that may be seen from points in the rear of said arm. I

I accomplish these objects by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure i-is a view in rearward elevation of a wind shield and dash board of an automobile to which is attached a signaling device embodying my invention; i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in rearward elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a view in longitudinal section on broken line 3, 3 of Fig. 2, showing parts of the same; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in front elevation showing parts of the same.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference numerals indicate like art's, attached to the front end portion of the body 5 of an automobile is secured the upright supports *6 and 7 which, in a well known manner serve to support a wind shield 8, the support 6 being on the left hand side and the support 7 being on the right hand side of the body 5.

To the support 6 is removably fastened a bracket 9 by means of a clamping member 1 a clamping bolt 11 and a winged nut 12, which bracket 9 is disposed to project horizontally in a line that is parallel withthe plane of the wind shield 8.

Hinged to the outer end portion of the bracket 9 is ahollow semaphorical arm whose front side wall embodies a removable metal plate 13 and a glass plate l l.

The rearward side wall of said arm comprises an integral metalportion 15 and a glass plate 16, both glass plates 14 and is being formed to resemble an arrow whose barbed head is disposed at the free end of said arm.

The hinge, by which the semaphorical arm is articulated to the outer end portion of the bracket 9, comprises a cylindrical pivot stud 17 which is integral with, and projects from, the outer side surface of the metal portion 15 of the rearward side wall of said arm, and which extends through. a bearing formed in the outer end portion of said bracket 9 to he rotatively movable therein, in which hearing it is maintained by a nut 18 and a washer 19, as more clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Projecting from metal portion 15 of the rearward sid the inner side of the ewall of "the semaphorical arm is an integral-lug 20 to which is clamped an incandescent electric lamp socket 21 by the means of a removable clamping member 22; within which socket 21 is an electric lamp 23 which is provided with a reflector 24 that is disposed to reflect rays of light from said lamp 23 in a direction toward the barbed points of the glass plates 14 and 16 whereby the glass plates 1% and 16 will be illuminated when said lamp 23 is in operation.

The insulated terminal 25 of the lamp socket 21 is connected by a conductor 26 to an insulated stud 2? which extends to the exterior of the semaphorical arm through the metal portion 15 of its rearward side wall where it is provided with an electrical con- 23 will be lighted and when said arm is in its vertical position then said lamp 23 will be extinguished, the contact member 29 being connected by a conductor 30 with one terminal of a source of electricity, whose other terminal is in continuous metallic connection with the uninsulate'd terminal of the lamp socket 21.

Mounted on the dash board of the automobile 5, in a position to make it accessible to the operator, is a lever 31 which is pivotally attached to a bracket 32 and which is provided with a yielding detent 33 that may engage with said bracket 32 yieldingly to maintain said lever in a required angular position,

One end of a flexible cable 34 1s connected to the lever 31 to extend therefrom to the T semaphorical arm where its other end is connected to a stud 35 fixed in said arm, 'as shown in Fig. 1, thus operatively to connect said arm and said lever 31 in such manner that the operator may move the lever 31 toward the right hand to swing said arm to a horizontal position, and may move said lever 31 toward the left hand to permit said arm to fall by its own avity andswin to its vertical position indlcated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

To operate my signalin device when it is associated with an automo ile in the manner illustrated and described when the operator desires to indicate that he is about to turn the automobile in its course toward the left hand he then actuatesthe lever 31 to swing it toward the right hand thus to cause the cable 34 to raise the semaphorical arm to a horizontal position shown by full lines inarm will be the yielding detent 33 for a desired length of time whereupon the operator may then swing the lever 31 toward the left hand with the resultthat the cable 34 will be slackened to permit the semaphorical arm to fall downwardly by a swinging movement to the vertical position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1..

Fig. 1, in which position said maintained by not shown, 7

light of a distinctive color that may be seen,

by persons in the rear ofsaid automobile;

and when said arm has fallen to its vertical position then the electric circuit of the lamp 23 will be broken to extinguish the lamp 23.

The circuit wire 30 may be provided with a manually operatedswitch, not shown, so that in daylight when the service of the lamp 23 is not required said switch may be actuated to open the circuit of the lamp 23 irrespective of the position of 'the semaphorical arm which in the day time can readily be seen when in its horizontal position without the aid of light from the lamp 23.

Obviously, changes may be made in the forms, dimensions and arrangement of parts of my inventionwithout departing from the spirit thereof.

That I claim is: e

A signal device for vehicles including a hollow arm having front and rear metallic plates at one end thereof and front and rear transparent plates in the remaining portions thereof, a supporting bracket, a pivot stud extending laterally from one side of one of said metallic plates and journaled transversely' in said supporting bracket to swing upwardly and outwardly and downwardly and inwardly at one side of a vehicle, a second stud extending laterally from said plate inside of said arm, a lamp arranged longi tudinally of said arm and secured to the second named stud, and means for swinging said arm;

In Witnesses whereof, I hereunto subscribe my7name this 21st day of February, A. D. 191 I 

